At Associated Fastening, we offer custom design and manufacturing services to help meet unique customer needs. We’ve worked for more than three decades to establish ourselves as experts in distributing standard and special fasteners. We rely on multiple distribution points throughout the United States to offer our clients maximum flexibility and quick turnarounds.
Our extensive experience and capabilities position us as an ideal provider for complex projects. Given our reputation for working with challenging projects, a firearms manufacturer approached us for help designing a unique carriage bolt. The customer needed our help developing a ribbed neck carriage bolt with a socket drive. Adding the drive to the bolt would allow our customer to engage with the assembly more easily. In more than 30 years of operation, we had never made a part quite like this one, but we knew our team was up to the task.
Our in-house design engineer worked closely with the customer’s engineering team to design a multifunctional bolt with its own drive and an oversized head that would allow it to function better in its application. We were able to develop a functional AutoCAD design, which allowed us to begin production. We manufactured the bolt from Grade 8 steel alloy using a cold heading process, with tolerances as close as 0.005 inches. We also applied a trivalent clear chromate zinc finish to enhance the corrosion resistance of the bolt.
We delivered the full order within 12 weeks, and the client was incredibly pleased with the results. We now make 150,000 of these unique carriage bolts annually for this client. Thanks to the success of this project, this customer has come to us to collaborate on a variety of other projects as well.
To see how our comprehensive design and manufacturing capabilities can support your challenging or unique project, please don’t hesitate to contact us.